Towson handed Delaware its first CAA loss of the season on Monday. (Alan Cradick/StarNews)

William & Mary guard Brandon Britt made just the second start of his senior season Monday against UNCW and responded with a season-high 22 points in the Tribe’s 93-70 win.

The 6-foot-2 guard set the tone for William & Mary with strong drives to the hoop and potent outside shooting. The performance didn’t surprise UNCW coach Buzz Peterson.

“I tried to sign him when he was out of high school,” Peterson said. “I thought he was a tremendous player, a tremendous young man. He took advantage of his starting situation.”

Britt had to ease into the season after a nine-game suspension that was the result of an offseason arrest. He joined the lineup Dec. 20 and has been the team’s second-leading scorer behind Marcus Thornton in conference play, mostly playing off the bench.

Fresh off a disappointing home loss to Towson, coach Tony Shaver shook up the starting lineup, giving Britt the start over Julian Boatner. Britt hit 8-of-11 shots, including 4-of-5 behind the arc.

“It took a while, quite honestly, to get back in the flow of things, but he’s been playing at a high level,” Shaver said on Tuesday’s coaches’ teleconference (Listen here). “We had considered Brandon a starter all along. It’s been nice to have his punch off the bench with guys like Omar Prewitt and gives us a little more experience with some of those young players. We made the decision to start him last night, and he was really good.”

JMU’s Dalembert keeps progressing

James Madison coach Matt Brady describes his team as “painfully young.” He’s had his patience tested by the Dukes often this year.

Now three months into the season, the youngsters aren’t quite as inexperienced anymore. Freshman Yohanny Dalembert has shown perhaps the most progress of the group.

In James Madison’s first 22 games of the season, Dalembert never had more than one field goal, but he’s increased his role recently, showcasing a newfound confidence on both ends.

Dalembert had 15 points and 13 rebounds in last Wednesday’s loss to Delaware. The 6-foot-8 forward earned his first career start against UNCW on Saturday and had seven points and three rebounds in a 64-62 victory. Brady showed trust, putting him on the floor down the stretch of a tight game.

While Brady is high on Dalembert, he wasn’t sure what to expect from him this season. The forward had never played basketball until he moved to suburban Philadelphia in 2010 to live with his half-brother, NBA player Samuel Dalembert, after earthquakes rocked his native Haiti.

After three years of high school basketball and a few months in the college game, the former soccer player is still just scratching the surface of his potential.

“He’s a guy that we wanted to bring in and help develop,” Brady said. “I think he’s done a really good job this year. Especially in the last five or six weeks, he’s really started to show the energy and toughness that he has and the motor that he possesses.”

Delaware falls

Delaware’s unbeaten run through the CAA regular season ended Monday with a 78-63 loss at Towson. Forward Jerrelle Benimon turned in 25 points, 18 rebounds, five assists to lift the Tigers in their new arena.

The Blue Hens could have clinched at least a tie for the conference’s regular season title with four games left. They also would have been the first team to start 12-0 in CAA play.

Instead, Towson managed to stop Delaware’s 13-game winning streak and tighten the top of the conference standings. The Tigers have won six of their past seven games with the lone loss in that stretch at UNCW.

“The goal for us was never to go undefeated,” Delaware coach Monte Ross said. “If we played good basketball and as a by-product of that you won a bunch of games that was great. But that was never the goal. The goal for us was always to 1) win the regular season championship and 2) to win the CAA tournament championship.”

Delaware (19-8, 11-1) travels to Hofstra on Wednesday night. The Blue Hens finish with three of four games on the road, including a trip to Trask Coliseum next week for UNCW’s regular season finale.

“We have a bunch of prideful guys in the locker room, so they were obviously upset because we lost,” Ross said. “But one of the things that you have to get over to them is the key is how you react. Everybody’s going to lose. It’s how you react and trying not to lose two in a row is the big thing.”